Ed Frank hails from the United States, but moved to Israel in 1990. He is the founder of Axis Innovation, which brings a unique perspective to growth-stage startups seeking international partners. Serving as an investor, entrepreneur and mentor during his career, Ed has also managed international technology joint ventures, M&A activities and strategic investments. Axis is connected to tech ecosystems around the world and has hosted investors from more than 50 countries that have led to more than 10 transactions led by Axis and Bootcamp Ventures, which Ed co-founded.

What or who is your biggest inspiration? Nathan Sharansky, a fighter for democracy, who had a long road from Moscow to prison to being a minister in the Israeli government.

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What were your first steps in the business world? An entrepreneurs club in college that financed most of my education and summer jobs at IBM’s semiconductor plant in East Fishkill, New York – the world’s largest and most efficient.

Who is the one person, past or present, you’d love to have dinner with? Jack Ma (founder of Alibaba), who changed the way that China shops and interacts online after several business failures. He created a company with a market cap that recently surpassed Facebook.

NoCamels “Faces of the Startup Nation” features the leading entrepreneurs, innovators, investors and visionaries to give you an exclusive peak into the movers and shakers of Israel’s innovation scene. If you want to suggest a “Face”, write us in the comments below!